Black and White
by littlebirdy05
Summary: Driven by madness, the black clad caper, strives to find a way to keep his memories and secrets from prying eyes. Memories no one should ever have to see. A plan forms in his mind, and he heads out to the zoo, to kidnap his favorite penguin.
1. Chapter 1

Penguins. He wasn't sure why, but he had always liked penguins. They… took his mind off things. Peaceful creatures they were, never having to worry about the same things as man… As him. Like him. They didn't have to deal with all the memories he had, of horrific murder, or the fear of one day getting caught, or the guilt he felt every waking minute of the day. This is why he made this plan, so long ago. Of course… then he needed the tools, the knowledge, the subject… now he had that. Today was the day.

The man, dressed in black pants and shirt, looked for the zookeeper with tired eyes, spotting her riding through the zoo on her zoo cart, only a few yards away. He took a step forward, and raised his hand.

"Miss?" He called. "Miss?" A little louder. Alice looked over, parking her zoo cart and irritatedly walking over to the man. She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm ready now. I know which one I want."

/

"Keep an eye on that one, Kowalski, he looks a little shifty to me." Skipper said. Kowalski nodded.

"Yes sir." He replied calmly, as he watched the man and Alice enter the veterinary office. Kowalski turned his head, trying to see what they were doing, but unable too. It didn't matter much, because only moments later the man came back out, carrying something in his right hand, just out of the penguins' eyesight. Skipper watched him closely.

"Kowalski, analysis." The man turned and headed towards their habitat.

"Skippah…" Private interrupted, trembling slightly. "It kinda looks like…" The man turned and aimed the tranquilizer gun at the penguin habitat.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Skipper shouted as the penguins scattered. Pop! The man fired as the penguins hid on the opposite side of the artificial ice floe. Skipper and the others waited and listened quietly. Silence. Relieved, Skipper exhaled.

"Looks like it worked. Kowalski, I-" Skipper looked to his left, then to his right, only to find that Kowalski wasn't there. Rico and Private looked to Skipper, eyes wide as the sound of the plank being laid over to their ice floe, invaded their ears. The three jumped up in time to see the man dressed in black stoop down, and pick up Kowalski with one hand. Kowalski was clearly out like a light.

"Kowalski!" Skipper shouted, running after him. The man got across the board, and pulled it away before Skipper could get to him.

/

The man gently laid the penguin in a pet carrier, the sounds of the other three penguins squawking at him came from behind. He locked the little latch and picked the carrier up. He thought it may be nice to reassure them, as they were clearly worried about their other little friend. It might be nice to tell them not to worry, that he'll bring him back soon… but he didn't… because there was a good possibility that that would be a lie. He looked back at the penguins, who had become silent now, then turned and walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

Kowalski woke from a numbing sleep. His sense of smell came to him before anything else, and he gagged. It smelled so strongly of medical chemicals, and antiseptic. Slowly his blurred vision came back to him. He was in a cage, and the room was dark, filled with sharp, pointed, and sinister looking tools. He saw a shadow shift in the corner, and jumped. The man walked up and laid his hand on the cage in an atempt to calm the frightened bird.

"It's alright little guy, just go back to sleep. The operation will take place in a few moments, then you can go back home, okay?" Operation? Was he sick? This man wasn't their normal veterinarian... he had a bad feeling about this. "Oh, come on now. I don't want to have to sedate you." Kowalski's eyes widened, and he backed against the cage. The man sighed. "So be it." He leaned over and grabbed a rather long looking syringe, filled with a vile looking yellow liquid. Before Kowalski could react, the needle had been thrust through the bars of the cage and he was being injected with the chemical. He felt the numbness spreading through his body again, and so he collapsed.

/

Marlene woke up smoothly, yawning and stretching her arms. She stopped a moment, noticing the unusual silence. Normally the guys would be in the middle of a training routine right now... Perhaps she'd go and see what was going on.

/

When he woke next, all he heard were mumbles. He couldn't bring himself to open his eyes, and so he just listened to the voices talking.

"How did it go?"

"So far, a success. We may want to keep him a day more for observation."

"Observation? Why?"

"We've just performed a massive brain surgery. We can't just let him go now, who knows what side effects there are."

Kowalski swallowed. Massive brain surgery! Side effects! Oh what did they do to him! Soon he began fading in and out of sleep again.

/

Marlene climbed over the enclosure to the penguin habitat, and stood, staring at the guys. Well... three of them anyway. They seemed so... hurt. She quietly walked up behind them.

"Guys?" She spoke quietly. "Guys, what's going on? Where's Kowalski?" Private was the only one to even look at her.

"We over heard Alice talking... He's gone in for surgery. He's very sick." Marlene's eyes widened. Surgery? But he seemed so normal yesterday. Private sniffed, wiping one of his eyes. "They said he might not make it..."

/

The next time he woke, he was surprisingly hungry. His stomach growled and ached. He'd never been this hungry before. The man in black seemed to notice.

"Hungry little guy? Here, we've got some food for you, don't worry." The man turned and retrieves several small chunks of meat from a bowl and placed them in his cage. He smelled them, and crinkled his beak in disgust. All of them were a different type of meat. Didn't that simpleton know the basic diet of a penguin? Kowalski grabbed the fish and ate it. For some reason it seemed... unsatisfying. He frowned as he swallowed. Perhaps these were all different types of fish? Clearly the zoo only served them one kind, so perhaps that is why this one kind of this meat was unsatisfying. Slowly he tried another. It was better but... not good. Then he tried another, then another, then another. When he came to one he stopped, eyes widening. This was the best food he had ever tried. He could only imagine what kind of fishing had to be done to get this. After he'd finished, he searched the cage for more of that same type of meat, finding a couple of pieces. He looked up startled, seeing another man writing on a clipboard.

"Has developed more carnivorous diet. Least favorite- Fish, Most liked- Chicken." Kowalski paled. Chicken? Bird? He ate bird! Feeling nauseous, Kowalski turned, going from pale to a sickly shade of green, and finally puking.

"Is this bad?" The first man asked.

"It's a normal reaction to his adjusting stomach. Just give him time."

/

Marlene watched the penguins from her habitat. It was pouring down rain and yet they still stood in the same place they had been all morning. Who would have thought... Kowalski, sick? And more so... the idea he may not come out of surgery alive? Everyone knew the rumors by now. Marlene felt her lip tremble. She'd hear of animals getting sick and dying all the time... but it had never happened to anyone she knew.

/

Finally, Kowalski was going home. They had packed away all the supplies, and readied the cage for transport. What was he going to tell the others? What _could_ he tell the others? ...He would lie. For their sake. There was no need for them to worry. If he was doing fine, but for a slight... sick, craving, there was no need to worry them. He could survive off fish. He would be fine. It was nothing more than a simple surgery to cure an illness...

/

Marlene woke up, startled, the next day, to the sound of cheers. She quickly ran to the entrance of her habitat, to find the other animals shouting greetings. The man they had told her about. He was back... and with a cage. She felt her heart leap. Kowalski was back! He was okay!


End file.
